


(i thought) you were leading me on

by hattricksfc (waunderings)



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Because They Are Stupid, F/F, Friends to Lovers, lots of Alex mentions for a story that she isn't actually in tbh, miscommunications
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:27:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22588672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waunderings/pseuds/hattricksfc
Summary: Kelley chronically overthinks, and Sonnett's just trying to keep up.Or, things start to change in Houston.
Relationships: Kelley O'Hara/Emily Sonnett
Comments: 11
Kudos: 112





	(i thought) you were leading me on

Kelley was good at reading people.

She always had been, she was intuitive and she could figure people out quickly, and it was part of what got her to where she was today. So it took a lot for someone to surprise her, especially someone that she would say that she knew really well.

But when Emily Sonnett stands in front of where she’s collapsed on a bench, twisting her thumbs in the long sleeves of the jersey that she insists on wearing, even though it’s definitely too big for her, Kelley is surprised. Sonnett is nervous, Kelley can tell by the indents of her eyebrows, and she huffs out a little breath before speaking. 

“Hey, would you want to… um,” she cuts herself off, before starting again. “Do you wanna grab coffee, or something?” Her voice trembles, just a little, just enough to let Kelley know that the younger girl is anxious, and Kelley is surprised.

It’s not that she’d never considered going out with Sonnett before. She’d thought about it mostly in passing, fleeting thoughts that flew by her in moments where Sonnett’s laugh was particularly bright, where their hands were tangled for just a moment longer than normal. But Sonnett had never expressed any interest before, had never even been excessively flirty with Kelley, at least not when they were one on one, and Kelley liked her  _ just _ enough to not want to risk the friendship they’d built up. 

Sonnett is standing there, her cheeks flushed from what Kelley had earlier assumed to be the difficult training they’d all just powered through, and Kelley is surprised. She must be staring too long, taking in the glint in Sonnett’s eyes as they stare back at her, because the other girl tilts her head.

“Or not?” She asks, and Kelley sees her flex her hands in discomfort. She snaps to attention.

“No! I mean, yes!” She says, quickly, jumping to her feet. “I mean, I’d love to.” She feels her own face heating up so she quickly reaches for Sonnett’s hand, squeezing it slightly. Sonnett quirks an eyebrow, tensing slightly, before nodding. She’s still looking at Kelley nervously, but she squeezes Kelley’s hand back, and the corner of her mouth lifts in a smile.

“Cool. Um, I was gonna shower and stuff, back at the hotel? But I’ll text you in an hour or so?” Sonnett says, untangling her hand and stepping back a little bit. 

Kelley has to force down a cheesy smile. “Cool,” she echoes, instead. 

Sonnett ducks her head a little, before smiling softly, the way she only does in quiet moments, and now Kelley lets herself grin back. Sonnett rolls her eyes a little bit, before turning away and heading back to grab her bag. 

Kelley watches her for a moment, watches her broad shoulders as she leans down to grab the duffell, and her legs as she jogs towards where Lindsey and Rose are standing off to the edge of the group. She says something to the two of them, and Kelley can’t hear it but she knows that it’s funny because Rose throws her head back as she laughs, and Lindsey reaches an arm towards Sonny’s shoulder for support as she giggles, and Sonnett’s got that smirk on her face, the proud one that comes out after particularly good jokes or clean slide tackles in a game. 

She’s still watching them as Andi heads over and knocks shoulders with Rose, as they start to make their way to the bus, until Tobin walks past her, pushing on her shoulder. 

“Dude, let’s go,” she says, nodding her head towards the bus, and Kelley clears her throat unnecessarily.

“Yeah, I’m coming,” she says, grabbing her own bag, falling in step behind Tobin and AD, feeling vaguely like she has whiplash. 

Sonnett is laughing loudly as Kelley makes her way onto the bus. The younger girl gives her a wide smile when she glances over, but then leans back towards Sam and Abby, pointing at something on Sam’s phone. 

Kelley slides into her seat, alone, and thinks not for the first time that she wishes Alex were here. She needs to talk about this to  _ someone _ . Her shoulders are tense, and she can feel her sore muscles beginning to knot and when she hears Sonnett’s loud cackle from behind her again, she’s hit with the need to yell about how Sonnett  _ asked her out _ after their longest training, covered in sweat and grass stains, smiling at her shyly, and they’re going to go  _ out on a date _ . 

She looks towards Christen, but she’s got her eyes closed in meditation or something, and besides, she’d probably immediately tell Tobin, who would  _ definitely _ have things to say about this, and Kelley didn’t even know if Sonnett was comfortable with anyone else knowing at all, so really, she needs Alex. She fumbles with her phone, ignoring the messages that had piled in from her sibling group chat for a moment. 

**Kell: ** SOS Code red!!!!!!!

**Alex** : Is it a real code red? Or did you just lose your sweatshirt again?

**Kell** : That was one.

**Kell** : It’s real 

**Kell:** Sonny just ASKED ME OUT

She sees those dots come up as Alex types, and watches as they disappear once, twice, then three times. Around her, the team is loud and boisterous, but Kelley stays hunched over her phone, waiting for Alex’s response.

**Alex** : Lol. Can’t believe the kid had to make the first move. 

Kelley takes it back. She doesn’t need Alex. She glares at her phone, even though she knows Alex can’t see her. 

**Alex** : Anyways, what’s the issue? You said yes, right?

**Kell: ** Obviously I said yes

**Kell** : But like, now we are going to go OUT. On a DATE.

There’s another pause before Alex’s response comes through, and Kelley worries her lip between her teeth.

**Janice** : Okay, but you’ve been wanting to go OUT on a DATE with her for like, four years. This is good. Plus, it’s just Sonny. You guys hang out all the time. It’ll be fine. 

And, oddly, it helps. Kelley can feel her rapid heart rate decreasing, and she smiles slightly.  _ It’s just Sonny _ . They were friends--  _ best _ friends. They were going to get coffee, just like they’d done hundreds of times before. It would be  _ fun _ . 

And, she thought lightly, maybe she’d even get to hold Sonnett’s hand. 

-

“I’m taking the first shower,” she says firmly, as Lindsey follows her into their room. She heads to her suitcase, not bothering to turn towards her roommate. 

“You always do,” Lindsey says, with an air of boredom in her voice. “Just don’t take all the hot water.” 

Kelley lets the hot water stream over her skin, and tries to will her anxiety to follow it down the drain. She moved slowly through the actions, taking her time toweling off her hair. Alex’s advice had helped, on the bus, and she was mostly teetering on the  _ excited _ edge, but she didn’t really want to be alone with Lindsey right now.

Usually, she liked rooming with Lindsey. Lindsey wasn’t too messy, and she was fun, and it almost always meant that Sonnett spent most of her time in their room. But right now, as she stares at herself in the mirror, the idea of being alone with Sonnett’s best friend as she gets ready for her first date  _ with _ Sonnett feels like… well, it feels like a joke is being played on her. 

Lindsey has wet hair when Kelley finally reappears from the bathroom, already dressed in her own sweats and tapping on her phone, sitting cross legged on her bed. She looks up as Kelley drops her stuff on her own bed.

“I used Sam’s shower. You were taking too long,” she says. 

“So you’re saying I could’ve taken longer and you wouldn’t care?” Kelley says, trying to dig into whatever normalcy she can find in herself. 

She leans down, digging through her suitcase for some clothes, cursing her past-self for not foreseeing the need for nice clothing while packing. She’s just starting to get frustrated when Lindsey interrupts. 

“What the hell, Kelley, are you digging for gold in there?” Her voice is definitely laced with laughter now, and Kelley huffs before turning on her heels to look at her.

“I don’t have clothes. I need clothes,” she says, pointing accusingly at her suitcase.

“You’re wearing clothes,” Lindsey says, dryly. 

“Obviously, Horan. I meant I need  _ good _ clothes. Not soccer clothes or sweatpants or anything with grass stains on it,” Kelley says, aware of the whine that’s beginning to tinge her voice. She stands quickly, stuffing her hands into the front pocket of her sweatshirt.

“Are you like, okay? Are you having a stroke or something?” Lindsey couldn’t look less interested, despite her words, as she flops back on the bed, still scrolling through her phone. “You don’t need  _ good _ clothes. None of us have good clothes, it’s Qualifying.” Her tone is bored, and Kelley groans.

“You’re right. I’m overthinking,” she murmurs, mostly to herself. She manages to find clean clothes, at least, and lays on her own bed after changing quickly. “So what are you up to tonight?” She asks Lindsey, who drops her phone on her stomach, turning to face her. 

“Probably gonna chill for a bit, then dinner with Rose and Andi. What are you doing after coffee?” 

Kelley freezes. “Coffee?” 

Lindsey’s brows furrow. “Yeah, with Sonnett? Isn’t that why you’re like, dressed and stuff?” 

Of course Sonnett had told Lindsey. Kelley knew she would, she was  _ expecting _ it, but she still doesn’t know how to reply to her roommate. “Um,” she manages, before clearing her throat. “Yeah, it is. I don’t know. I guess I’ll eat dinner too, later. At dinner time.” 

Lindsey is still looking at her in confusion, but Kelley’s phone buzzes and she grabs it, breaking their eye contact. 

**Sonny** : Are you ready? I’m heading to the lobby. 

**Kell** : Meet you there! 

She types and erases the exclamation mark three times before huffing and sending the message. So what if it looks over eager? Sonnett asked  _ her _ out. If anything, the younger girl should be feeling like the eager one. 

“See you later,” she calls to Lindsey, stuffing her feet in sandals and grabbing her wallet as she headed to the door. She doesn’t get a reply, but she wouldn’t have waited for one anyways. 

Sonnett is sitting on a couch in the lobby when she gets down there, her legs splayed and an adidas cap covering her messy hair. Kelley feels stupid for a moment about her freak out about clothing. Sonnett had obviously not had the same issues. She was wearing track pants and a light gray top, something Kelley had almost definitely seen her in before, but she looked  _ good _ , and she looked soft, and Kelley wanted to wrap her arms around her. 

Instead, she stops a few feet away, smiles dumbly when Sonnett looks up, and says, “Hi.” 

Sonnett tucks her phone into her pocket, smiling back. “Hi. So I found this place a few blocks away, I thought we could just walk there.” 

She says it simply, and Kelley stops being nervous. Because this is  _ Sonnett _ , and she found a coffee shop on Instagram, just like she always does, and she’s asking Kelley to check it out, just like she always does. So Kelley just smiles, and reaches a hand out to pull Sonnett up from the couch. 

“Perfect,” she says. 

She links their fingers, because she can, and even though Sonnett’s hand is a little sweaty it gives her a thrill. Sonnett is smiling at her, with a head tilt that makes her heart beat louder, and then they’re walking out of the lobby and Kelley bumps their shoulders together and wonders why she was ever nervous in the first place. 

Sonnett’s talking animatedly about some prank she pulled on Sam the night before, but Kelley is distracted because the sun is shining brightly and glittering off of her blonde hair, and Sonnett’s voice is slightly raspy from all the yelling she had been doing at training that morning. She’s mid-laugh when they come to a stop in front of the coffee shop, and she drops Kelley’s hand to open the door for both of them. Kelley tries not to feel the loss. 

“Do you want a cortado? I’ll order for us if you grab those really comfy chairs over there,” Sonnett says, nodding her head to where a pair of plush armchairs sit in the corner. 

She goes to sit in the armchair, putting her foot up on the other one in an unnecessary act of marking it as taken. There’s really not that much of a crowd in the shop, and no one in line behind Sonnett. She watches as Sonny smiles at the barista, pointing to something on the menu before holding her phone up to pay. 

She tucks her smile away and pulls out her phone, scrolling through twitter so she doesn’t get caught staring. 

**Alex** : Are you okay now? Like, are you going to make it through this date without needing medical assistance?

**Kell** : Ugh. Please delete this from your memory in five seconds but: you were right

**Kell** : It’s fun and she’s fun and it’s great ok bye 

**Alex:** Too late, screenshotted, printing it out, may give it to myself in a frame. 

“Why are you glaring at your phone?” 

Kelley looks up, quickly dropping her phone face down on the table next to her chair. “Just Alex being Alex. Thanks,” she says, as Sonny hands off a mug to her before settling in the opposite chair. 

Sonnett hums. “It’s weird not having her here,” she says, wrapping both of her hands around her own mug. “I swear when I saw the starting lineup last week, for a second I was like… where the hell is Alex’s name?” 

Kelley laughs lightly. “Yeah, I know the feeling.” 

“Okay, so,” Sonnett says, sitting strangely straight in her chair, and putting her mug to the side. “I need your advice.” 

Kelley perks up. “Oh?” 

“Yeah. I know I haven’t like, talked about the trade a lot,” she starts, and Kelley’s eyes focus on her quickly.

It’s not just that she hadn’t talked about it  _ a lot _ , she’d barely even mentioned it. Kelley had tried to ask Lindsey about it, after the news had dropped during January camp, but the other girl had just bit her lip and shrugged, muttering about how it sucked but they were trying to focus on qualifying. So Kelley hadn’t pushed, and Sonnett hadn’t honestly even seemed that upset. 

“And frankly, I don’t really  _ want _ to talk about it, but everyone keeps looking at me with these like, pity eyes, and then Emma said something about how everyone online was saying that I was probably like, broken hearted or something, I don’t know. So I thought that maybe I  _ should _ talk about it, to like, process or whatever. But I can’t talk to Lindsey, because she’ll probably cry, and Emma just doesn’t get it, you know?” Sonnett is rambling, but her shoulders are easing out of the tension that had been there, and Kelley smiles into her coffee.

“So you want to talk to me about it?” She clarifies, just to make sure. 

Sonnett lets out a huff of air. “I mean, yeah,” she pauses, “you’re like, one of my best friends.” 

It’s an oddly vulnerable moment, Kelley thinks vaguely, as she sits there and lets Sonnett talk about Orlando, butting in every now and then with her own ideas and encouragements. She knows, of course, what it’s like to be traded by the club that you grew up in-- that you gave so much to. But then, the whole date was a vulnerable moment. Kelley had felt slightly raw ever since Sonnett had walked up to her at the end of training, just a couple hours ago. 

After a while, Sonnett leans back in her chair. “Thanks,” she says, softly. 

“I barely did anything,” Kelley points out, but Sonnett waves her off. 

“You’re here,” she says, and Kelley feels blood creeping into her cheeks. 

The conversation turns, then, Kelley sensing that Sonnett had done enough emotional processing for the day. She starts to tell her about her last phone call with Erin, and she relishes in the way that Sonnett’s laugh is just a little too loud for the hush of the coffee shop, but the younger girl doesn’t seem to care. 

When they’re walking back to the hotel, shoulders brushing slightly, Kelley begins, “So I think this went well.” 

“What went well?” Sonnett asks, “The coffee shop? I thought it was pretty good, but that place in Philly was definitely better.” 

“No. I mean, yeah, I agree with you. 7/10 at best, but no, I meant… this,” she gestures, lamely, between them, and Sonnett narrows her eyes at her. “Don’t you think?” 

“I mean, yeah. We’ve done coffee a million times, Kell. Are you feeling okay?” Sonnett places her palm on Kelley’s forehead, pursing her lips in pretend worry. 

  
Kelley glares for a second, before pulling her hand off and claiming it between her own, continuing on the walk. “I feel fine, thanks,” she says. “I’m just, you know. Glad.” 

She feels kind of stupid, until Sonnett squeezes her hand and tugs her slightly closer. “That’s really sweet, Kell,” she says, “I missed you, too.” She’s still got a smug grin on her face, and Kelley rolls her eyes. 

“Nevermind, forget I said anything. I take it all back,” she says, untangling their arms and stepping sideways as Sonnett reaches back towards her.

“Too late for that, Miss Kelley, you’ve already admitted it. You’re stuck with me now,” she says, laughing as she swings her arm around Kelley’s shoulders. 

This, Kelley thinks, as they turn the corner back to the hotel, is something that she could get very, very used to. 

-

Lindsey is in their room when Kelley gets back, which she’s both expecting and annoyed about. 

Sonnett had given her a hug as she got off the elevator, squeezed her for just a second longer than normal, whispered a soft “ _ See you later, Kell,”  _ in her ear and nearly let the doors slide back closed before she could exit. She’d caught them with her foot, her face splitting into a goofy smile as she moonwalked backwards, and Kelley had ducked her head as she laughed.

Lindsey is sitting at the desk, her leg tucked beneath her, and looks up when Kelley walks in.

“Hey, did Sonnett tell you if she’s coming to dinner with me? She hasn’t responded to my texts,” she says, before turning back to her phone.

“No, she didn’t mention it,” Kelley says, working hard to keep her tone even. She absolutely  _ refuses _ to give Lindsey any reason to make fun of her. 

“God, she’s a nightmare,” Lindsey replies, and Kelley snorts. “Hey, how’d it go, though?” She flips her phone face down, turning her body to give Kelley her full attention.

Kelley feels her face go red. “Um, really good, I think. I’m sure Son will tell you all about it.”

Lindsey shrugs. “Maybe. She’s been a little guarded about it all, though, which like, I  _ totally _ get. I mean, I’m sure it’s a lot more complicated than I can understand.” 

Lindsey is, in Kelley’s opinion, being a little too casual with this whole thing. Kelley likes Lindsey, loves her, even, but they’ve never been close enough for this kind of idle chat about each other's love lives. Maybe it’s because Sonnett is her best friend, so she feels like she can talk to Kelley about it, but Kelley still itches under her gaze. “Yeah, I guess it’s kind of complicated. Maybe you should just talk to her about it at dinner.” 

Lindsey just nods, before getting up and pulling on a sweatshirt. “I’m gonna go track her down, then. You didn’t wanna join us for dinner, did you?” 

Kelley shakes her head, just as Lindsey’s phone buzzes. She answers it as she steps into her shoes, heading for the door. “Finally, Sonny, I’m coming to find you now--” her voice trails off as she closes the door behind her, and Kelley flops onto her bed fully. 

She has thirty minutes before she told Tobin she’d meet her for dinner, so she takes her time as she stretches out on the bed, reaching for her phone. 

**Kell:** I had a lot of fun today.

It takes a few minutes before a response comes, but Kelley smiles when it does. 

**Sonny** : :) Me, too

-

By the time Kelley has dragged Lindsey down to breakfast, most of the team is already there. Sonnett is sitting towards the middle of the room, sipping a cup of coffee and nodding along to whatever Abby is saying to her. Kelley’s eyes meet hers, and she ambles over there after filling her plate. Lindsey follows after her, shaking sleep from her eyes and furrowing her brow when Kelley slides into the seat beside Sonnett. 

“Happy game day, ladies,” she says, “how are we feeling?” 

Sonnett glances over at her with a small smile, and Kelley finds herself grinning back. “You’re in a good mood this morning, Miss Kelley,” she says, before lifting a spoon of oatmeal to her mouth. 

“She’s been like this all morning, it’s exhausting,” Lindsey butts in from across the table. Kelley fixes her with a glare, but Lindsey just glares back before turning to continue a conversation with Abby beside her. 

“What’s there not to be in a good mood about? The sun is shining, it’s game day, and I’m here with all my best friends.” In some part of Kelley’s mind, she feels like she should maybe try to tamper her smile, but Sonny is returning it in kind, and it’s hard to wipe the grin off of her face when the blonde’s eyes are crinkling the way that they are. 

“Well, that was almost poetic,” Sonnett says. 

Kelley stabs a piece of potato with her fork, taking a few bites as Sonnett joins in with Lindsey and Abby’s discussion of something Adidas-related. 

The rest of the room is fairly lively, Kelley can see Tobin and Pinoe propping their heads up, half asleep as Ash talks animatedly at them. The coaching staff is all at a table on the edge of the room, looking over a couple of tablets, their heads bent together. Kelley knows she should probably be thinking more about the game tonight, and she  _ is _ , sort of. She’s looking forward to it. She hated not getting the play in the last one, and hated  _ how _ she played in the first game even more. She was ready to get back out on the field, to settle in and prove why she was there. But there were other things on her mind, too. 

She nudges Sonnett’s shoulder. “What are you doing after the game?” She says, when the other girl turns to look at her. 

Sonny shrugs slightly, sipping on some orange juice. “Nothing, I don’t know. Don’t have plans.” 

“Okay,” Kelley says, “would you wanna go somewhere with me?” 

“Go  _ where _ with you?” Sonnett says, narrowing her eyes. “You trying to lure me to the woods and take me out or something?”

Kelley rolls her eyes. “No, dingus, I just thought that since you planned yesterday, I would take it upon myself to find something for us to do today.” 

Sonnett’s brows are raised, and there’s a look on her face that Kelley can’t quite place. “Um,” she starts, “I’d love to hang out with you, Kell, but like… you know you don’t have to pay me back for yesterday, right? Like, that’s not really how this works.” 

Kelley softens. “No, I know. I’m not trying to. But I’d also like to hang out with you, and I thought we could find somewhere good for dinner.” She’s pulling at the strings on her sweatshirt, feeling suddenly embarrassed.

Sonnett’s hand reaches out to knock hers away from the threads she’d tangled her fingers in, pulling insistently before letting go. “Sounds good, Kell,” she says softly, with an encouraging smile, but her face still has that look. It’s sort of distant, even when her eyes meet Kelley’s, and it unsettles her that she can’t put a name to it. 

-

Kelley’s not starting today. She’s expecting it, but it still kind of sucks, and the only thing that lessens the sting is seeing Sonnett’s name on the board, and the proud look in the younger defender’s eyes as Vlatko goes through strategy. They talk through subs, and Kelley feels good knowing that she’ll at least get  _ some _ time on the field today. If she wants to play in the big games, she’s going to need minutes to fully shake off the rust. 

When they’re back in the locker room after warm ups, Sam nudges her. 

“Hey, are you coming to dinner with us later?” She asks, and Kelley looks up from where she’s retying her cleats. She has vague memories of Sam telling the team that Kristie had recommended a restaurant for after the game, but nothing concrete.

“Oh, no, I’m going out with Sonnett,” she says, and she doesn’t  _ mean _ to make it sound like a date, even though it is, so she flushes immediately at her word choices and Sam raises her eyebrows. 

“Wait, you’re going  _ out _ with Sonnett?” Sam asks, incredulously, and the girl in question leans over when she hears her name. 

“Where am I going?” She asks, and Kelley knows that her face is bright red, now, but Sam is turning her head between the two of them, and a couple of their other teammates have glanced over now, too.

“Since when are you and Kelley  _ dating _ , Sonnett?” She asks, and Sonnett’s jaw drops open in surprise. Kelley huffs out an annoyed breath, because this wasn’t how people were supposed to find out. She hadn’t really  _ thought _ about how they would find out, of course, but she knew it wasn’t supposed to be by her own stupid slip of the tongue in the locker room just five minutes before they take the field. 

“Wait, what? Son, you didn’t tell us this at dinner last night,” Abby’s voice is accusing from beside Kelley, and Sam chimes in with her agreement. 

Sonnett’s face is still open with surprise, and when Kelley meets her eyes, she’s hit with the urge to protect-- not just Sonnett from this horrifyingly embarrassing moment, but to protect  _ them _ , whatever they were building together. 

“Okay, you can all fuck off now, thank you,” she says, with as much confidence as she can muster. 

“I mean, I’m happy for you guys, completely, and we’ve all totally been waiting on this for a while now, but seriously, Sonnett, I can’t believe you didn’t tell us that Kelley asked you out. Friendship points are dwindling,” Sam says, just as Lindsey is walking by, because apparently Kelley  _ cannot  _ catch a break. 

Lindsey looks over to them in alarm. “You asked Sonnett out?” she says, staring at Kelley. “When?” 

Kelley looks at her blankly, because  _ what the fuck, Lindsey _ , they’d  _ literally _ talked about this yesterday. Then, her gaze turns back to Sonnett, who still hasn’t said a word. Sam and Abby are looking at Kelley, she can feel the heat from their stares, but she focuses only on Sonnett. Her ears are bright red, and her eyebrows are pulled so closely together that Kelley’s worried they may be stuck. She’s staring at Kelley with complete confusion, and Kelley runs out of excuses. 

“Um, I didn’t,” she says, responding to Lindsey but not breaking her eye contact with Sonnett. “She asked me.” 

“What?” Sonnett squeaks, finally breaking her silence, “Kelley, what’s going on?” 

Before Kelley can respond, Lindsey straightens. She turns from where she had been looking at Kelley to face her best friend. Kelley can’t fully see her face anymore, but she stares and Sonnett for a beat too long, seemingly having a conversation with her eyes. “Um, I think you guys might need to, like… talk about this privately.” 

“Well, it  _ was _ private, but now all of you are interrogating us for information,” Kelley starts, but she’s interrupted by Sonnett suddenly standing up from the bench.

“No, she’s right,” she says, walking over to grab Kelley’s arm and pull her up. “We definitely should talk about this privately.” Except there’s not really anywhere private to go, not really, and they have to line up for the game in like, two minutes, so she ends up just tugging Kelley off to the corner, and Lindsey pulls Sam and Abby away from them, and Kelley starts to get nervous. 

“Um, look, I’m sorry, I didn’t  _ mean _ to tell Abby, or like, anyone at all. I know it’s stupidly early, and so new, and I promise I wasn’t trying to like, freak you out or anything--” she knows she’s rambling. She can feel the words spilling from her mouth, even if she’s not really aware of  _ what _ she’s saying. She just wants to wipe away the distant look on Sonnett’s face, the confusion from her brow, and she doesn’t know what else to do. 

“Hold on, please,” Sonnett says, almost desperately, “I feel like I’m so many pages behind.” 

Kelley cuts herself off, watches as Sonnett takes a deep breath, her eyes closing for a moment. 

“Kelley,” she starts, “since when are we dating?” 

Kelley’s stomach drops. It feels like she’s been chucked into one of Carli’s ice baths, the way her skin immediately erupts with goose bumps, and she physically stumbles backwards. 

“Oh,” she says, quietly, “oh.” Now she feels like the one playing catch up. Sonnett is still looking at her in confusion. Maybe the look in her eyes that Kelley hadn’t been able to place was fear, because she looks almost afraid as Kelley blinks quickly. She had been so focused on protecting whatever they were building together, she hadn’t exactly considered that Sonnett wasn’t looking to build anything at all. “I’m sorry,” she says, clearing her throat. She doesn’t want to cry, not here, not with Sonnett’s eyes still steady on her, but she feels her throat getting sticky anyways. “I guess I got a little ahead of myself.” 

Her apology doesn’t do much to rid the tension from Sonnett’s shoulders, which are still hunched tightly, but Kelley can’t focus on that right now. Her hands are sweaty and she can feel heat gathering behind her eyes threateningly. She shifts her gaze to the floor, suddenly irritated by the noise in the locker room, as if every sound has been amplified. 

“I’m sorry,” Sonnett says, her hands tugging at her bun in discomfort. 

_ Fuck _ , Kelley thinks,  _ I was too eager _ .  _ I was too much, and I pushed her away before we even started. _

She feels a tear slip out of her eye, and she brushes it aside quickly. Sonnett still notices, of course, and makes a strangled sort of noise. 

“I’m sorry,” she repeats, and Kelley nearly stomps in frustration.

“You don’t have to apologize,” she says, steadying herself with a deep breath, “you don’t have to apologize at all. It’s my fault, I guess I just got excited when you asked me out yesterday, and maybe I read too much into everything after that, too.” She still can’t meet Sonnett’s eyes, instead letting her gaze trace the scratches on the tile beneath her. 

“Wait,” Sonnett says, so sharply that it tugs Kelley’s eyes back to her face. “What do you mean, when I asked you out?” 

Kelley can’t tell if she’s being difficult as a way to shift the blame from herself, or if she’s just trying to embarrass Kelley even more, but either way she narrows her eyes in annoyance. “Yesterday, Sonnett. You asked me out after training yesterday and we went on a date and I thought we would go on more, but obviously you don’t agree, so…” she trails off, and Sonnett starts shaking her head. 

“Kell, I mean this with so, so much love, but I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about. I didn’t…” she doesn’t finish her thought, but Kelley fills in the blank. 

“You didn’t mean it as a date,” she says, suddenly, and now, even more than before, she kind of wishes the ground would swallow her up. “Oh my god, you didn’t mean it as a date,” she says again, mostly to herself. 

“I didn’t mean it as a date,” Sonnett confirms, and Kelley groans, covering her face with both of her hands.

“This is mortifying,” she says, “I can’t believe I’m  _ this _ much of an idiot.” 

Distantly, she hears Vlatko calling the team to get in line. She knows Sonnett has to join them, has to take her spot behind Alyssa and in front of Abby, but the other girl makes no move to join them. 

“It’s not-- Kell, I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” she says, and now Kelley is shaking her head.

“No, please, let’s just forget it, seriously,” she says, desperately. “We can joke about it in a couple of weeks, or something, but until then can we  _ please _ not mention it again?” 

“But-” Sonnett starts, but she’s interrupted by Lindsey calling her name, trying to get her to join the team. Sonnett looks towards their teammates, all lined up, and back to Kelley. 

“Go ahead,” Kelley says, “I need to be alone in my embarrassment for a while.” 

Someone else calls for Sonnett again, and Kelley knows that their teammates are looking towards them. She can see Tobin standing close by, her eyes narrowed.

“Kelley,” Sonnett says, seemingly unhurried, despite their teammates growing restlessness behind them, “go out with me.” 

“You don’t have to do this,” Kelley says, “I’m a big girl, and I can handle the rejection, I just need to work through the humiliation first.” 

“Kelley,” Sonnett says again, insistently, “I want to date you. Go out with me.” It’s less of a question, and more of a statement, and Kelley still can’t wrap her head around it. 

“Seriously, Sonnett,” she says, “just leave me in my shame.” 

Sonnett’s jaw ticks in annoyance, and suddenly her hands are on Kelley’s cheeks and she’s pressing into Kelley’s space, sealing their lips quickly and firmly. Kelley is vaguely aware of their teammates catcalling behind them, but mostly she feels the searing hot press of Sonnett’s lips to hers, before the younger girl is backing away, smiling at her.

  
“Seriously,” she says. “I’m sorry I didn’t know that was a date, but I’d like to have a second one.” 

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> idk how i got here, but here we are. enjoy 5k of stupidity, i guess?


End file.
